Our January presentation on LNG tanks, presented by Madhav Parikh and Önder Akinci from Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, was a thorough comparison between concrete and steel outer tanks. Big thanks to our presenters as well as all the attendees.
I hope you’ll consider joining us again, or for the first time, on February 22 for a presentation on sustainable design and embodied carbon, presented by Priscilla Nguyen of Martinez Moore Engineers.
Although our chapter has considered changing meeting time or location this year, for the time being we have decided to stick with the current pattern, meeting 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (including sign-in, networking, and presentation) on a Thursday at Maggiano’s – Memorial City. One change we did make was to increase the meeting fees for members and non-members, in order to keep up with increasing expenses for putting on the meetings. Members will now pay $40 to attend. The non-member rate will be $50. For this fee, we offer attendees a meal and a 1 PDH technical presentation, as well as a chance to network with presenters and attendees. These fees are comparable to other engineering societies and still offer great value for in-person technical presentations. We are holding student registrations at $5.
After many years with no increase, sponsorship rates are increasing as well. Sponsorships for 2024 are $250 for bronze, $500 for silver, and $750 for gold tier. If you or your company are interested in supporting SEAoT Houston with a sponsorship, please email seaothouston@gmail.com.
With all the fees that are going up, I wanted to call attention to the FREE student memberships with SEAoT. That’s right, currently enrolled Texas structural engineering students can join SEAoT for the low, low price of FREE at https://members.seaot.org/Individual-Members. If you know any structural engineering students, please share this link with them so they can take advantage.
This month we are introducing two of our chapter officers, Treasurer Ariel Suselo and Secretary Eric Homburg. Keep reading to see their bios, and read next month’s newsletters to meet more of the SEAoT Houston board.
Finally, a last-minute addition from our Gmail inbox: are any of our local structural engineers interested in mentoring middle or high school students? Does your company have any kind of community outreach or mentorship program, either for structural engineering or STEM/STEAM in general? Let me know at seathouston@gmail.com.
Until next time,
Jennifer Martin-Logan, PE
President
SEAoT Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter
